Oh Carol Peletier, what have we done?
by BlueMoon368
Summary: Like most of you I'm dying to know how Darryl's going to react when he finds out what Rick did. How will Darryl handle it when Rick breaks the news? What are the opinions of the other people at camp? I try to keep as canon to the characters as possible. Starts at the end of season 4 ep 5. LONG FIC *bad summary but please click and read!* Rated M because I don't like restrictions ;P
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: okay so, I know how this is going to sound, but this fic literally came to me in a dream. I guess I've just been so deprived of Darryl's reaction to Carol being gone that it's effecting my dreams now. So here it goes! My first fic! Feedback is encouraged.**

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Hershel saw the truck come onto the ground…hell- _everyone_ saw the truck come onto the grounds. Hershel started walking towards the courtyard to greet them, he knew Tyreese would want to know immediately how Sasha was doing and Rick may need some help when he told Darryl about… The thought made him sick to his stomach. He didn't agree with Rick making this decision on his own- there was a council now, a council that he personally was a part of! But if he was really honest, Hershel was almost glad that Rick made the decision himself.

Carol had been more then just a fellow makeshift family member in this apocalyptic world- she had been his friend. She had been given such a horrible hand in this life, even before the walkers, but she still had so much care and concern for everyone around her. His mother always said that's why god made some lives harder then others, so the compassionate can be born, and he saw that in Carol. At least that's what he used to believe. Hershel really wasn't sure what he believed in anymore, he always tried to look to his bible and see the hope in things, but now with this sickness…after everything started to feel somewhat normal (well at least as normal as it could be), after losing Carol and possibly losing Glenn- he just wasn't sure anymore, maybe there was no god, maybe he had just been a fool this whole time.

Hershel waited in the courtyard as he saw the truck come closer, he started to feel more panicked. Darryl was incredibly sensitive to the way people acted- if something was up he could sniff it out almost immediately. Hell, he was a natural born tracker in more ways the one. No matter how much more level-headed Darryl had become, anybody with half a brain knew that taking Carol away from him was not a good idea- who knows how he would act. The last thing they needed right now was a blow out between Darryl and Rick.

Hershel wasn't sure if Carol and Darryl were romantic or not, they were defiantly the talk around camp, and he seemed to not be the only one left in the dark. Darryl had become more popular in camp, in more ways then one. Hershel couldn't help but notice Carol staring a little to intensely when yet another woman in camp tried flirting with Darryl. Hershel remembered how Glenn had speculated up in the cage over-looking the courtyard one day that whatever those two shared was one-sided. It had been a particularly slow day after the people of Woodbury had started to settle in more. Hershel had come to read and Maggie found him soon enough and of course Glenn came trailing along not too long afterward. The subject came up when Maggie said something along the lines of Darryl and Carol 'coming out with it already'. Sparking the debate over 'were they or weren't they' romantic. Hershel couldn't help but go back to that day…

"_I don't know Glenn" Maggie said as the three of them looked at Carol and Darryl going off together as usual, Carol playfully pushing his arm and Darryl laughing as she did, "Darryl just doesn't seem to act with anyone else the way he acts with Carol. He seems so much less…I dunno…guarded with her…" _

_The three stared at them a little longer before Glenn said, "I know Mags, I know, I thought there was something between them too. I mean they're always together, and they even slept in the same tent for christ's sake," Glenn shifted and looked at Hershel, "uh- sorry Hershel, I didn't mean to take the lord's name in vain…" Hershel just smiled and nodded, Glenn looked back to Maggie, "I mean the way they were during the winter months, sharing a tent, I always just assumed, we all assumed, they were..ya' know. But that time when Merle came and Darryl just left with him. You were there Mags, he didn't even think to say goodbye to her or anything, didn't even consider her til I brought her up, and even then all he said was "She'll understand", that's when I knew. I would never be able to leave you behind like that, would you?" _

_Maggie looked back at the couple before looking at Glenn again, "…no, never. I see where you're coming from but—" "Look Maggie," Glenn interrupted, "You don't understand, before Carol, Darryl was kind of a loner. He didn't like any of us, and honestly we didn't like him. I think Carol is special to him because she was the first to really care about him and make him feel like part of the group, and then he helped her with Sophia- they just really relied on each other. But he left her so easily, that's when I realized he didn't love her like that. She's totally into him though." he took a sip of the cup of water he had brought up with him._

_ Maggie looked down at Darryl and Carol. Darryl was pointing to something beyond the fence and she was just looking at him smiling, "Yeah," she said quietly," she definitely loves him" Maggie looked at Glenn, then looked back down at them, speaking up more she added, "I just always thought it was mutual, poor thang." Glenn nodded his head and looked down at them "I know it sucks, but trust me Maggie, I'm a guy, I know these things." He laughed and threw an arm around her. Hershel just sat quiet the whole time taking in their opinions. He wasn't sure if he agreed with Glenn, Hershel was a quiet observer and had heard many a hushed conversation between Darryl and Carol in the dead of night on C-Block. But then again, who knows, maybe Glenn was right. He watched Darryl and Carol walk out of sight from the three nosy people looking at them, laughing in their own world. _

Hershel shook his head, the memory made him sad for a thousand different reasons. Nothing was the same anymore. Nothing would ever be the same anymore. The Truck was almost to the courtyard and he looked around him, Rick was nowhere to be seen. He understood Rick feeling nervous about confronting Darryl, but if he wanted to be the one to make decisions, then he had to be the one to take responsibility for them! He couldn't help but feel annoyed towards Rick. Before he realized it the truck was pulling up. Well to hell with Rick, someone had to greet them. Hershel walked up to the truck, Tyreese and Darryl both jumped out. Hershel kept himself focused on Tyreese, he was nervous about tipping Darryl off in any way.

"How's Glenn doing?" Tyreese asked, obviously concerned. "He made it through the night," Hershel answered trying not to replay things in his head, "he's breathing on his own now. Maggie and Bob are wit him…he seemed stable enough for me to get some air." Hershel had seen Tyreese's eyes glaze over once he knew Glenn was alright- he knew he was more concerned to see how Sasha was. Tyreese gave Hershel a nod and walked off. "He's a tough sonobitch" Darryl said, Hershel finally looked towards him since he came out of the car, "…he is" Hershel said in agreement. Darryl pointed to him and said "_you're _a tough sonobitch" Hershel looked at Darryl, his heart felt so heavy. He couldn't bear to look at him anymore, "...I am" he said in agreement as he started to walk on- this was Rick's to deal with, Darryl deserved to know. "What about Carol?" Hershel turned around- this was exactly the question he didn't want to be asked. Darryl squinted at the sun, "She up in A-block with Lizzy?" Hershel waited a beat then took a sharp breath in. He tried to be as emotionless as possible, "No…talk to Rick about it" Darryl shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand, panic obviously crossing his face, Hershel felt a stab to his heart and couldn't help but comfort him at that moment, if only slightly. "She's ok- just talk to him" He gave Darryl a nod and turned away from him to walk on. He heard Daryl drop his things and turned back only slightly just to see Darryl running towards the yard. He wondered what Glenn would think if he saw Darryl's face just now. He may have left with Merle that time, but the panic on Darryl's face- that was real fear. He didn't know if they were romantic, but he knew for sure that fear on his face and the way he ran to the yard just now- that was love. Hershel looked at Darryl for a couple more seconds then looked up at the sky.

"Heaven help us what have we done."


	2. Chapter 2

Darryl's head was spinning. He couldn't keep his thoughts straight.

"_Hershel had been so vague and it definitely seemed intentionally, the hell was he hiding? What did he mean Carol wasn't in A-block. She stuck to those kids like fucking glue. When I left she had been fine. She seemed a little shaken up but I mean who wouldn't be with what we had found_."  
Darryl shook his head trying to get the image of the singed corpses out of his head. "_Had she gotten sick?"_ he thought, "_If she started to not feel well I could see her hiding it from me so I wouldn't be distracted getting the medicine, she was always so worried about everyone, she never stopped to worry about herself-_ _god damnit Carol! If she was feeling sick she should've told me! I would've done something I would've-"_ Darryl shook his head, still running to the yard,_ "no she was right not to tell me, it would've clouded my head when I was out on the run. Tyreese was already barely there- they couldn't have afforded another person like that."_  
His mind drifted to the memory of Tyreese just sitting in the car as the walkers practically buried him alive. It's like he didn't care. He took a deep breath in and tried not to think too much about it. He just needed to talk to Rick. "_But why all this fucking secrecy, why was Hershel having me run around like a goddanged fool looking for Rick why couldn't he have just-",_ Darryl suddenly slowed to a stop. He could see Rick on his little 'farm' with Carl in the distance now. "_Why was Hershel being so secretive? If Carol had just been sick why couldn't Hershel have just told me…the sick were his territory anyway, wouldn't he be the best one to tell me?"_ Darryl looked at Rick who caught his stare then quickly looked down awkwardly.

His stomach dropped.

"_No…something else happened. Something worse then her getting sick…_" he started to walk towards Carl and Rick, trying to keep his composure as he racked his brain. "_Had she gotten lost trying to get supplies on her own? God damnit Carol,"_ he thought, "_she would be stupid enough to do something like that, always worrying about people. Wait- no. There's no way in hell she'd leave Mika and Lizzy here alone…she wouldn't risk it_." Darryl's fists balled up as he did everything he could not to scream out loud. "**_GOD DAMNIT! _**_What was going on!? What'd they do wit her! Had Rick taken her on a supply run with him? Why wouldn't he take Maggie? Did she not want to leave Glenn? Carol probably volunteered so Maggie wouldn't have to leave him. She hasn't been outside the prison in so long. She's not used to being on runs. Did she get hurt? Oh god did they have to amputate something?! I'd kill him. I'd fucking kill him!" _Darryl's pace quickened.  
"Fucking idiots!" he whispered under his breath. He couldn't handle it anymore- to hell with composure.  
"**RICK!**" Darryl yelled angrily as he approached the two a little too quickly. Carl and Rick both looked up, startled. Embarrassed from his outburst, Darryl slowed down until he was at the edge of the garden they were working on, "tha' hell is goin on man... Where's Carol?" he said, trying to sound calmer. He let his imagination get the best of him. "_Hershel said she was fine" _

Rick looked at him. The look on his face sent every feeling that maybe he was overreacting out the window. He looked pained. Darryl shifted awkwardly as Rick came closer to him, "C'mon man, just tell me. What happened, is she ok? What happened?" he pleaded quietly. Rick turned and looked back at Carl, "Hey Carl, I need to talk to Darryl now for a bit, check to see if any of the plants are broken, and try to re-root them if they are like I showed you the other day." Carl nodded his head but didn't keep his eyes off Daryl. Looks like Darryl wasn't the only one who wanted to know what was going on.  
"Hey" Rick said, trying to force a smile, he put his hand on Darryl's shoulder, "let's go for a walk. I need to fix that damn water pump again, ya got my back?" Darryl nodded, "yeah sure, man." He was irritated with all of this. He just wanted to know what was happening. They walked outside the fence. Darryl saw Michonne and Hershel driving away, he felt uneasy and exposed, he couldn't escape the feeling they were being watched. He looked around nervously. They got to the bridge where the little river was when Rick suddenly swung around and stared him dead in the eye.  
"Look something bad has happened", Rick said. Darryl's heart started pounding in his ears "-is Carol ok? Was it-" he could barely get the words out.  
"Just let me finish!" Rick interrupted seeming annoyed. Rick took a big deep breath and turned away, bending over a couple of times and brushing his hair back with his hand. He closed his eyes and hung his head down. "Look, I'm just gonna come out with it. Carol was the one who killed those guys. She stabbed them, dragged them, and lit them on fire. She wasn't even sorry!"  
Rick looked sick to his stomach then straightened up, regaining his composure. Darryl felt like he just got hit by a bus, "Nah man you're wrong" he said speaking barely over a whisper. "Carol don't got it in her… she wouldn't" Rick stared him in the eyes, at that point it didn't matter what he said next, he already knew he was telling the truth. "Darryl, she admitted it herself. She said she did it to protect everyone." Darryl looked back at the prison and took a big breath out "god damnit, Carol" he whispered.  
He brushed his hair back with his hand and turned back to Rick, "So where is she then? Locked in one of the cells?" he looked down at his hands, "We shouldn't tell Tyreese until we decide what to do, I'll go-" "I already have" Rick interrupted. Darryl looked at him wide-eyed, "Are you _insane_? Tyreese is out for blood, he'll kill her!" Darryl started to push past him, but Rick grabbed his arm and looked him dead in the eye, "I've already made a decision of what to do, Darryl. She's gone." Darryl's eyes went narrow as he stared at Rick. He felt his heart threaten to beat right out of his chest. He yanked his arm out of Rick's grip. "What do you mean she's _gone_?" He said giving him a little push to his chest. Rick looked worried. "Darryl! She _killed _two people! _Our_ people! She couldn't be trusted anymore!"  
Darryl got into his face and looked him dead in the eye. "So what did you do- _farmer_ Rick?" he spat out. Rick's face hardened, "I did the only thing _to_ do", he said has he lightly pushed Darryl back a bit, "I packed her a bag with some food and weapons and took her on a run with me. When we were there she was showing no remorse for her actions or how she handled herself. I found her a car and I told her she wasn't allowed back- then we went out separate ways."  
Darryl stood there with his mouth hanging open, his head was buzzing and he wasn't sure if he was going to pass out or throw up. He put his hands on his knees and looked down. Rick put his hand on Darryl's shoulder "Look, Darryl, I know this is hard-" Darryl looked up at him, he was still talking but he couldn't hear him. Before he knew it, he stood up and punched him in the mouth- knocking him to the ground. Rick looked up at him, shocked, his mouth bleeding. Darryl got down and grabbed his shirt.

"**TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK YOU LEFT HER",** he screamed into his face. Rick just looked at him, still in shock.

Before Darryl knew what he was doing, he started dragging Rick back into the yard by his neck.


End file.
